Swimming pool cleaning apparatus



A118. 9, 1966 c. M. BLUMENFELD 3,265,079

SWIMMING POOL CLEANING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 8, 1964 5% INVENTOR.

g- 9, 1966 c. M. BLUMENFELD 3,265,079

SWIMMING POOL CLEANING APPARATUS Filed May 8, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent Office Patented August 9, 1956 Filed May 8, 1964, Ser. No. 365,917 3 Claims. (Cl. 134-167) This invention relates to apparatus for cleaning swimming pools, and is an improvement on apparatus such as that shown in my US. Patent No. 2,919,027.

The cleaning of sediment from the bottom of swimming pools is required at regular intervals, and at the present time, represents a considerable maintenance cost. In the past, a manually operated suction head has been used to pick up sediment off the bottom of the pool. The method is effective, but it requires one or two men several hours to do a thorough job on the average size residential swimming p'ool. Since the cleaning operation must be done once or twice a month, it is an appreciable expense in pool maintenance.

This invention provides an automatic cleaning device for removing sediment from swimming pools without requiring the supervision of an operator. The device of this invention can be set to start the cleaning operation, and left for any length of period required to complete the job. Thus, one man can set a number of the devices in pools located considerable distances apart and leave the devices running Without any supervision. The same man can later pick up the devices after the pools are clean. In this way, a one-man crew can service many pools simultaneously, which is not possible with the prior techniques.

Moreover, with the improved apparatus of this invention, steps and hard-to-reach nooks and crevices are cleaned just as thoroughly as the remainder of the pool without requiring any special attention by an operator.

The apparatus of the present invention includes a movable conduit disposed in a pool from which sediment is to be cleaned. The conduit is connected to a source of water under pressure by a swivel which supplies water to the conduit and leaves it free to travel in a generally horizontal plane around the swivel. Means are provided .to move the conduit around the swivel, and a rotatable wheel is carried by the conduit to engage any obstructions whichmay be present in the pool, say, ladders, steps, and the like, and guide the conduit around them. Preferably, means are provided to urge the wheel toward the edge of the pool. A downwardly extending hose is connected to the conduit to receive water under pressure and jet it into the pool to stir up sediment. The stirred up sediment is removed by suction means, such as a conventional drain and filter provided with typical swimming pools.

Preferably, the movable conduit includes means responsive to water supplied to it to apply a force to the conduit which urges it toward the edge of the pool. Thus, as the conduit moves around the pool, it is held in the vicinity of the edge of the pool so that the downwardly extending hose connected to it sweeps over steps, around ladders, and in other hard-to-reach places near the edge of the pool.

In one form of the invention, the movable conduit is elongated and provided with a pair of longitudinally spaced jets which direct water in a generally horizontal direction from a common side of the conduit, so the conduit is urged laterally toward the edge of the pool. Another jet is directed longitudinally of the conduit so that it urges the conduit to move along its longitudinal axis. Of course, a single jet could be used which is directed to provide both longitudinal and lateral vectors of force.

These and other aspects of the invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an alternate embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a view taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawings, an elongated horizontal rigid and hollow supply tube 10 is secured at one end to an upright pivot pin 12 mounted to rotate about a vertical axis in an upwardly opening socket 13 in the edge of a swimming pool 14. The end of the supply tube adjacent the pivot pin is connected to a supply hose 16 which is furnished water under pressure from a pump (not shown), which may be the conventional pump furnished with a typical pool. Vertical stop pins 17 in the edge of the pool on opposite sides of the .tube 10 limit its travel in a horizontal plane. a

The end of the supply tube remote from the pivot pin extends to substantially the midpoint of the swimming pool and down through a first float 18 which floats on the surface of the pool and supports the end of the supply tube over the pool.

A first horizontal flexible hose 20 is connected at one end by an elbow 21 and a swivel 22 to the end of the supply tube which extends down through the first float. The swivel is of conventional type. It permits the horizontal hose and elbow to rotate about a vertical axis through the swivel, and it supplies water under pressure from the supply tube to the first horizontal hose. A conventional first T-joint 24 is connected to one end of the first horizontal hose. An intermediate float 26 is secured by a clamp 27 to the T-joint and holds the first horizontal hose in a substantially horizontal position. A downwardly extending long flexible cleaning hose 28 is connected at its upper end to the first T-joint 24 and carries a nozzle 29 at its lower end which jets a stream of water against the bottom of the pool to stir up sediment. The reaction of the water jetting from the nozzle causes the long cleaning hose to move in a random, snakelike fashion over the bottom of the pool and stir up sediment over the entire bottom of the pool.

A horizontal flexible extension hose 30 is connected at one end to the first T-joint 24 and at its other end to a second T-joint 32. An extension float 34 is secured by a clip 36 to the second T-joint and holds the extension hose 30 in a substantially horizontal position.

The rear end of an elongated and rigid horizontal traveling conduit 38 is connected to one outlet of the second T-joint. The other end of the traveling conduit is curved away from the nearer edge of the pool and carries a rotatable paddle-wheel 40 mounted to rotate about an upright pivot shaft 41 secured at its lower end by a clip 42 to the forward end of the traveling conduit. A pair of longitudinally spaced orifices 43, 44 open horizontally out of opposite ends of the conduit on the side of the traveling conduit toward the second T-joint. Thus, water supplied to the traveling conduit jets from the longitudinally spaced orifices and urges the traveling conduit to move laterally away from the swivel located over the midportion of the pool, and stay close to the side of the pool. A plurality of radially outwardly extending arms 46 are mounted on the periphery of the paddle-wheel to engage the side of the pool. Preferably, the orifice 43 near the rear end of the traveling conduit 38 is slightly larger than the orifice 44. This, in conjunction with the curved forward end of the traveling conduit helps the paddle Wheel to move past corners and avoid entrapment in areas such as surface skimmer recesses.

A horizontal orifice 48 in the second T-joint 32 opens rearwardly in a longitudinal direction with respect to the traveling conduit, i.e., away from the paddle-wheel, so that water jetting from the orifice 48 urges the traveling conduit to move longitudinally in a forward direction. The arms of the rotatable wheel at the forward end of the traveling conduit engage the edge of the pool and guide the travel conduit around any obstructions, such as ladders, steps, and the like.

A downwardly extending short cleaning hose 49 is connected at its upper end to one of the joints of the second T 32 and extends a relativey short distance down below the water level of the pool. A nozzle 49A on the lower end of the short cleaning hose jets a stream of water against the side of the pool and against ladders, steps and other objects located along the edge of the pool.

To operate the apparatus shown in FIGS. l-3, water is supplied under pressure to the supply tube, through the swivel, and to each of the hoses and conduits connected to the tube. Water jetting out of the longitudinally spaced orifices 43 and 44 on the traveling conduit cause it to move laterally and extend horizontal hoses and until the traveling conduit reaches the edge of the pool.

Water jetting from the rearwardly opening orifice 48 in the second T-joint 32 causes the traveling conduit to move in a longitudinal direction and push the rotatable wheel and traveling conduit around the entire edge of the pool. The swivel 22 permits the intermediate and extension hoses to sweep repeatedly around and under the supply tube 10.

Water jetting out of the nozzle connected to the lower end of the long cleaning hose stirs up sediment over the entire bottom of the pool, and water jetting out of the nozzle connected to the lower end of the short cleaning hose sweeps sediment and other settled matter from steps,

ladders and hard-to-reach places at the edge of the pool.

The long, flexible cleaning hose is of such length that it traverses the entire pool bottom at the deep end, as well. as at the shallow end. The location of the first T-joint 24 is such relative to the second T-joint 32 that the long cleaning hose can carry where the short cleaning hose 48 leaves off. The stirred-up sediment is removed from the pool out a conventional drain 49 and filtered from the water by a conventional pool filter (not shown) before being returned to the pool by the usual pump (not shown).

If desired, the intermediate and extensions hoses can be modified to carry a suction pickup such as that described in my US. Patent 2,919,027 to pick up leaves and other sediment which is not readily moved toward the conventional drain outlet of a swimming pool.

Although floats are shown in FIGS. 1-3 for supplying the buoyancy to maintain the horizontal hoses and supply tubes in proper positions, the hoses can also be made selfbuoyant to eliminate the need of such floats, as described below with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an elongated flexible self-buoyant hose 50 is connected at one to the swivel 22 on the outlet end of the supply tube 10. The upper end of a downwardly extending, long cleaning hose 52 is connected to one leg of a T-joint 53 mounted intermediate the ends of the hose 50. A nozzle 54 on the lower end of the long cleaning hose jets a stream of water against the bottom of the central portion of the pool to stir up sediment. A downwardly extending short cleaning hose 56 is connected to the end of the self-buoyant hose remote from supply tube 10. A nozzle 58 on the lower end of the short cleaning hose jets water against the sides of the pool, ladders, steps, and the like, to stir up sediment in the vicinity of the edge of the pool.

A rotatable wheel 60 with outwardly extending horizontal arms 62 is mounted to rotate about a vertical shaft 64 secured by a clamp 65 to the self-buoyant hose adjacent the elbow 57. A horizontal and laterally opening orifice 66 in the end of the self-buoyant hose adjacent the elbow 57 imparts a lateral movement to the free end of the self-buoyant hose so that it tends to move horizontally in a clockwise direction around the swivel as indicated by arrow 68 in FIG. 4. The self-buoyant hose can be of any suitable flexible type, but preferably it is of the type conventional used as a vacuum hose in conventional cleaning operations on swimming pools. The self-buoyant hose is sufliciently long to reach any point along the edge of the pool from the swivel by which it is connected to supply tube 10. The nature of the hose is also such that it tends to extend to its full length unless confined. Thus, in effect, the self-buoyant hose acts like a giant elongated compression spring with its outer end urged toward the edge of the pool. As water is pumped through the supply tube, the swivel, the self-buoyant hose, and out the nozzles on the cleaning hoses, water also jets fromorifice 66 and moves the free end of the self-bouyant hose and the rotatable wheel around the edge of the pool and around the swivel, carrying the long cleaning hose around the central portion of the pool. The rotatable wheel guides the free end of the self-bouyant hose beyond any obstructions which may be present in the pool. The tendency of the hose to extend itself to its full length urges the rotatable wheel against the edge of the pool so that vicinity of the pool is cleaned by the shorter cleaning hose. As the free end of the self-bouyant hose moves to areas along the edge of the pool which is closer to the swivel, the flexibility of the self-buoyant hose permits it to assume the serpentine form shown in FIG. 4 so that it can be driven continuously in a horizontal plane around the edge of the pool and the swivel.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for cleaning sediment from a pool of liquid, the apparatus comprising a movable conduit disposed in the pool, a source of water under pressure, means connecting the water source to one end of the movable conduit to supply water to the conduit and :leave it free to rotate in a generally horizontal plane, means for moving the conduit, means continuously urging the other end of the movable conduit toward the edge of the pool, buoyant means supporting said other end portion of the movable conduit in a substantially horizontal position, a first downwardly-extending hose connected to the movable conduit between the source of water under pressure and the said other end of the conduit to receive water under pressure and jet it into the pool to stir up sediment, a second downwardly-extending hose shorter than the first hose and connected to the conduit adjacent the said other end to receive water under pressure and jet it into the pool to stir up sediment adjacent the edges of the pool, a wheel carried by the conduit adjacent said other end thereof and mounted to rotate about an upright axis, and outwardly-extending arms on the wheel to engage obstructions and guide the wheel and conduit around them.

2. Apparatus for cleaning sediment from a pool of liquid, the apparatus comprising a movable conduit disposed in the pool, a source of water under pressure, means connecting the water source to one end of the movable conduit to supply water to the conduit and leave it free to rotate in a generally horizontal plane, an elongated, substantially horizontal traveling conduit extending transverse to and connected to the other end of the movable conduit, means continuously urging the traveling conduit laterally toward the edge of the pool, means for moving the traveling conduit longitudinally around the pool, a first downwardly-extending hose connected to the movable conduit between the source of water under pressure and the said other end of the movable conduit to receive water under pressure and jet it into the pool to stir up sediment, a second downwardly-extending hose shorter than the first hose and connected to the rear end of the traveling conduit to receive water under pressure and jet it into the pool to stir up sediment adjacent the edges of the pool,

connecting the water source to one end of the movable conduit to supply water to the conduit and leave it free to rotate in a generally horizontal plane, an elongated, substantially horizontal traveling conduit extending transverse to and connected to the other end of the movable conduit, two longitudinally-spaced lateral jets opening out of the same side of the traveling conduit to urge it laterally toward the edge of the pool, means for moving the traveling conduit longitudinally around the pool, a first downwardly-extending hose connected to the movable conduit between the source of water under pressure and the said other end of the movable conduit to receive water under pressure and jet it into the pool to stir up sediment, a

E? second downwardly-extending hose shorter than the first hose and connected to the rear end of the traveling conduit to receive water under pressure and jet it into the pool to stir up sediment adjacent the edges of the pool, a buoyantly supported wheel carried by the traveling conduit adjacent its front end and mounted to rotate about an upright :axis, and outwardly-extending arms on the wheel to engage obstructions and guide the wheel and traveling conduit around them.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,748,944 6/ 1956 Kalinske 134-167 X 2,919,027 12/ 1959 Blumenfeld. 2,975,791 3/ 1951 Pansini 134167 3,139,099 6/1964 Anthony 134167 3,170,180 2/1965 Winston et a1 134-167 X CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT L. BLEUTGE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR CLEANING SEDIMENT FROM A POOL OF LIQUID, THE APPARATUS COMPRISING A MOVABLE CONDUIT DISPOSED IN THE POOL, A SOURCE OF WATER UNDER PRESSURE, MEANS CONNECTING THE WATER SOURCE TO ONE END OF THE MOVABLE CONDUIT TO SUPPLY WATER TO THE CONDUIT AND LEAVE IT FREE TO ROTATE IN A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE, MEANS FOR MOVING THE CONDUIT, MEANS CONTINUOUSLY URGING THE OTHER END OF THE MOVABLE CONDUIT TOWARD THE EDGE OF THE POOL, BUOYANT MEANS SUPPORTING SAID OTHER END PORTION OF THE MOVABLE CONDUIT IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION, A FIRST DOWNWARDLY-EXTENDING HOSE CONNECTED TO THE MOVABLE CONDUIT BETWEEN THE SOURCE OF WATER UNDER PRESSURE AND THE SAID 